Working Kelpie
Red

We chose Red because he's from excellent working parents. Red was born on a farm in Brecon (South Wales, UK) in mid April 2010. Both his parents work daily on the farm. One of ten puppies in the litter, Red was the last pup to leave the farm after being kept back as a possible replacement sheepdog for the flock.

Red's character.

Red has an extremely high drive. He travelled home perfectly during the 100 minute journey, sleeping most of the time. Obviously, when he arrived, he was a little cautious but still playful and with good appetite.

When introduced to the other (17) dogs, he was keen to play but a little worried when another dog rushed towards him. He quickly learned to climb onto the picnic table and use it as a refuge.

When the dogs were put away for the night, Red was not happy. He barked constantly, knocked his feed and water bowls over and attempted to climb over the retaining mesh in his pen.

Eventually the din stopped, so we went to check that he was OK before leaving him for the night. As soon as his pen door opened a tiny bit, Red tried repeatedly to barge out and became noisy again. He was obviously perfectly alright (if a little upset) so we left him overnight. There was some barking for a while but Red soon settled down and we were surprised to be able to enjoy a peaceful first night.

Summary.
Red is nice dog, we like him. He's very determined to get his way, especially when it comes to sheep but he's showing signs of being a quick learner.

Red's work.

We dont normally allow a pup of Red's age to go near sheep because a threatening sheep can permanently ruin a dog's confidence, but when we collected Red, he'd already been to sheep.

The farmer (Meirion) demonstrated this (pic above) and we could see that Red's fast, aggressive approach didn't give the sheep time to do anything but run away. At just twelve weeks, he'll run at a small flock of sheep, barking and trying to bite them.

The same happened with our own sheep the next day!

Summary.
It's really far too early to form any sensible opinon. Poor Red's only been here a couple of days but he's definitely got what we were looking for. He's very determined indeed and if anything, a little too aggressive with sheep for our liking. We're sure that will moderate as he gets older and more relaxed.

Red's progress.

This picture will tell you how Red's settling in! He's playing with Mossie - ten weeks older, and much larger.

Red was never going to be short of confidence but his first few days here were naturally cautious. Now, he's quite full of himself and making his mark.

Initially, his barking increased along with his confidence but he's learned it brings him no result and he's quieter now..

Summary.
We're very pleased with Red. He's been to sheep once and we're careful he doesn't get near any aggressive sheep.

Red's continued improvement.

Red's finding his feet now. He's mixing with all the dogs and is not afraid of any of them despite some quite rough playing.

At last he's trotting happily into his pen (rather than having to be carried in every time) and when he's let out in the morning, he'll wait until he's told to come out, rather than barging out as he did previously.

We've noticed that Red waits by the door of his pen to be let out, whereas collies always wait at the point where they get the best view of the person letting them out.

Summary.
Continued improvement from Red. He's very bright, intelligent and brave.